Being a designer can be a challenging job. For product designers, you can work for months, even years, designing a product with no guarantee it will hit the market. Your design could be scrapped at the last-minute or reworked resulting in a product that no longer matches your vision. If you’re lucky, all, or at least part of your design, could find its way on a product shelf and sell like hotcakes! For component designers, the highs and lows are similar when dealing with the dynamics of housings and budget changes.
The perseverance and fortitude designers need to possess is nothing short of amazing. So why do designers do it? What makes them continue with such uncertainty? We spoke with our in-house industrial designers to find what makes them tick and the insights we got were amazing. When asked why they decided to become designers, each had unique answers, but there was a common thread. Designing encourages creativity and bridges the space between science and art; the notion that taking an idea and turning it into a physical product is awesome. When asked what qualities make a successful designer, the unanimous answers were determination and resilience, understanding who you’re designing for, and being able to put personal bias aside to get the job done.
Clearly it takes a certain personality type to design, especially when handling criticism of the work. How do they handle it? Our designers said constructive criticism is an essential part of the design process; it is just simply part of the job, and a good designer realizes that nothing is personal. They know feedback is meant to ensure the final product best meets and exceeds customers’ needs. This made us wonder, what is the best piece of advice they’ve received or what advice would they give their younger self? No surprise here, everyone said a version of “Know your customer.”
This brings us to a fundamental principle at LaFrance; keep a results-oriented view towards fulfilling our customers’ needs. We never stop working for our accounts. We’ve adopted a designer’s mentality to adapt and overcome whenever needed. We know things happen. Designs change, quantities can unexpectedly spike or drop, and production schedules can get pulled in or pushed out at any time. Whether you’re a designer, engineer, or supply chain manager, remember that it is never too late to enhance your on-product branding. Even if the design phase is locked down and you’re a stone’s throw from production, if you feel your product branding isn’t the best representation of your brand, there’s still time to change it. Short-term inconveniences pave the way for long-term gains. It is worth it to hit pause and adjust your branding to better match your message.
The ability to pivot and adapt is critical to be a successful designer. The same is true for manufacturing, regardless of your industry and marketplace. Please complete our form below if you’re looking for a partner to help you roll with the punches and still create something special. We can’t wait to collaborate with you!
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